Two men have been sentenced to death in Yemen for their role in fighting against the government in the north of the country.

The court sentenced nine other Houthi rebel fighters to between eight and 12 years in jail on Saturday.

One man was released.

The charges date back to 2008 when the defendants were accused of participating "in an armed gang and using weapons against the authorities".

Fighting between the Houthis and the military flared again in the Saada province two months ago.

Members of the Zaidi Shia sect continue to battle government troops and argue that they are marginalised and discriminated against.

The defendants refused to accept the legitimacy of the court and declined to appeal against their sentences.

Batches of fighting

The same court has sentenced 10 other fighters to death for the same charges in recent months.

Up to 190 rebels are being tried in batches over fighting in Bani Hoshaish, northeast of the capital, Sanaa, between March and June 2008.

Hundreds of people were killed and wounded in the clashes.

The rebels, whose stronghold is in the northern mountains, are accused by the government of seeking to restore the Zaidi imamate that ended in a republican coup in 1962.

The fighters are known as Houthis after their late commander, Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, who was killed in 2004. He was succeeded as field commander by his brother, Abdul Malak.

The Zaidis are a minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but form the majority in the north.